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Falcon Healing Arts - Providing you with knowledge and support to care for your family naturally.
Home
Blog
About Me
Testimonials
Natural Products
Work With Brandy
Contact Me
Yoga Events
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About Me
  • Testimonials
  • Natural Products
  • Work With Brandy
  • Contact Me
  • Yoga Events
Essential Oils, journaling, Kids Health, Meditation, Natural Remedies, Seasons, Summer, Traditional Chinese Medicine

7 Solutions for Summer Sleep Struggles

For many families, long summer days mean confusing, restless nights. The young ones wonder, “How can it be time to sleep when it’s still so light outside?”, and bedtime becomes more of a struggle than usual. I have 7 solutions for summer sleep struggles, insomnia, and unsatisfied sleep that have helped my family and can help yours too.

My son has always had a later bedtime, usually going to sleep between 9:00-10:00pm and waking between 7:00-8:00am (reasonable, since we homeschool). One would think that the Summer would have little affect on him and other night owls, since it’s dark at their actual bedtime. But it just not true for us and unfortunately bedtime is starting to creep past 10:00pm.

It would be much easier to let go of these rules during the summer, but I think it’s still important to strive for a reasonable bedtime to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm. We stick pretty close to all the suggestions I mentioned in Natural Sleep Remedies, Part 1: Finding Your Rhythm , especially:

  • Waking with the sun, without an alarm
  • Getting plenty of outside time in direct sunlight
  • Not having a protein overload at dinner
  • Avoiding sugar and any caffeine-containing foods
  • Turning off all screens by 7:00pm
  • (Trying to) go to sleep before 10:00pm

But the energy of Summer is so Yang, so intense, that it may overpower a person’s ability to settle, especially children who are very Yang and excitable themselves. And when it’s hot and muggy, the environment is not conducive to cuddling up to sleep anyway.

 

Try these 7 Solutions for Summer Sleep Struggles

1. Adjust Diet for Summer

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we recognize that certain imbalances occur in different seasons. In the Summer, the ruling element of the season is Fire and the Heart is the organ & channel that becomes easily imbalanced, showing up as insomnia, restlessness, hysteria, mania, hot flashes, dry mouth, palpitations, etc.

The best way to get ahead of any imbalance is to eat in harmony with the season. Your family is probably craving more raw, cooling foods (especially juicy fruit) that are out at the Farmer’s Markets at this time. It’s great to indulge in watermelon, cantaloupe, berries, grapes, kiwi, cucumbers, fresh fruit popsicles, dandelion & other seasonal greens, and seafood. But we need to be careful to not overindulge in eating fruit, and balance out the sugar increase (and possible insulin surge) with plenty of fat, which I’ll address in next week’s post.

Most of us do best to reduce or avoid warming, stimulating foods at this time. Onions, garlic, peppers, ginger, fried foods, and chocolate hamper a person’s ability to cool down and rest at night.

2. Hand & Arm Massage to Pacify Heart Channel

Try massaging the inner arm on the pinky finger side against the Heart channel to sedate it, meaning, massage from the pinky up toward the armpit.

 
Heart channel arm massage for summer sleep struggles
 
 

If your child become ticklish as you move up toward the arm (thereby getting excited, which we DON’T WANT at bedtime), then just give them a hand massage and stretch the arm instead.

 
Heart channel arm massage for summer sleep struggles
 
 

3. Acupressure to Calm the Mind & Spirit

We covered many acupressure points that help induce a sleepy mood in my Stress-Relieving Acupressure for Moms Guide. These are for general relaxation as they help “calm the spirit” as we say in TCM.

You may also want to press along points on the Heart channel, especially Heart 7, which lies on the medial aspect of the inner wrist. It’s said to calm the Shen (mind & spirit), pacify the Heart and clear the channels .

 
Heart channel points for summer sleep struggles
 
 

Of course you can also work with a TCM practitioner to address a Heart Qi (energy) imbalance with acupuncture and herbs as well.

4. Spritz or Massage with Peppermint on Hot Nights

When it’s too hot to settle in bed at night, many parents I know like to use peppermint essential oil to cool down. Because heat rises and we see this with energy in TCM too, I like to use mint on the forehead, scalp, neck, chest, and shoulders to cool the upper body and move heat down and out.

5. Warm Epsom Salt Baths or a Foot Soak

Magnesium in Epsom salt is easily absorbed through the skin via baths and has been shown to reduce cortisol levels, helping one shift to the parasympathetic nervous system where we rest and digest. Your kids may be taking many baths & showers if they’re also swimming in the Summer months. So if they are resisting a bath at nighttime, consider a simple Epsom salt foot soak instead.

Warming up the feet will also help to pull down hot energy from the upper body, creating a feeling of being grounded & centered, which helps when going to sleep. Lavender is a wonderful calming essential oil that can be added to the bath.

6. Yoga Nidra for Kids’ Sleep Struggles

Yoga Nidra is a relaxation method for the body and mind that helps one shift consciousness, resulting in a deep restful sleep. Some children may love this. Others may have a hard time laying still for this. You may need to get creative to make it more interesting for your child.

Here is my recording of Yoga Nidra, geared toward adults. If it becomes part of your personal nighttime routine and you find value in it, it will be easier for you to introduce it to your child. You can adjust it by working with fewer body parts or just using touch, instead of speaking, to communicate awareness of your child’s body to them.

7. Journaling to Process Summer Excitement

Some kids have a hard time shifting to bedtime because they don’t want to stop playing or they can’t shut off their minds, especially as they get older (many adults reading this have this issue too!) Even once in bed, they may have a hard time letting go of ruminating thoughts, like revisiting events of the day that caused uncomfortable emotions (like shame and embarrassment).

For whatever reason your child is struggling to sleep in the summer, writing thoughts in a private journal or drawing a quick picture can really help. I’ve been suggesting this to my son a lot lately and it really helps him when he’s afraid to lose a vision of something he started doing right before bed.

Of course, you may want to try a longer bedtime period, relaxing in the bedroom with the curtains tightly shut, lighting low (but enough to read mellow bedtime stories) in addition to all the suggestions above.  When my husband and I are diligent about these points, then bedtime is usually quite enjoyable!

Do you keep a bedtime for your kids during the Summer? Are they having difficulty settling down at night? Please let us know in the comments if you have any suggestions that can help these kids rest well!

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7 solutions for summer sleep struggles
Emotional health, Meditation, Natural Remedies, Natural Sleep Support, Women's health, Yoga

Improve Your Sleep With This Yoga Sequence

improve sleep with yoga

Hopefully you were able to try out some of the tips in our last post about getting in touch with and resetting your circadian rhythm. But if you tried all the suggestions and are not sleeping soundly, no worries. I’ll bet that you can improve your sleep with the lovely yoga sequence I have for you below.

Yoga is an effective, enjoyable way to address the root of your sleep issues and induce a pleasant snooze. In a national survey of 35,000 households, 55% of people who practiced yoga reported that it helped them sleep while 85% said that it helped them reduce stress.

Remember that approach is key, since how we do our yoga practice is just as, if not more important that what we do. We have to be conscious of our breathing and back off when a posture becomes too exciting or stressful.

Not all forms of yoga are relaxing either (no vigorous vinyasa or heated yoga classes before bed!), so a calming, more restorative approach is necessary to get the body ready for sleep.

The following sequence is an essential part of my nighttime routine. It melts away any muscle tension accumulated throughout the day and reduces stress. When done in a meditative way with mindful breathing, it also helps to tame obsessive thoughts, calm the mind, and prepare it for sleep.

Hold the following postures for 5-8 slow, deep breath, perhaps emphasizing the exhalation to help let go of tension. It’s best to do this immediately before retiring, so you can climb right into bed afterwards.

Yoga Sequence for Better Sleep

1. Standing forward bend (Uttanasana)

 
yoga uttanasana forward bend
 
 

This posture is great for relieving tension in the back. Crossing the forearms makes the upper body heavier so there’s greater traction along the spine. Blood and energy is directed toward the head to calm the mind.

Bend the knees if tight hamstrings are pulling your low back, causing discomfort.

2. Headstand or rabbit (Sirsasana or Sasangasana )

 
yoga sirsasana headstand
 
 

If Headstand is already part of your practice, doing it at night can activate the endocrine glands and calm your nervous system. Contraindications to this pose include neck injuries, high blood pressure, heart conditions, and menstruation.

 
yoga Rabbit pose
 
 

Like Headstand, Rabbit pose is therapeutic due to it’s direct effect on the brain. But this posture is more approachable since you can control the pressure placed on the head and ensure that the neck is not compressed.

3. Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

 
yoga Sarvangasana Shoulderstand
 
 

Shoulderstand is a counter pose to Headstand variations. It regulates any hormonal imbalances and soothes the nerves. This pose should be skipped though if you have a neck injury, high blood pressure, or are menstruating.

4. Bound angle w/ neck extension & open chest (Baddha konasana)

 
yoga Baddha konasana Bound angle pose w/ neck extension
 
 

This posture (as well as #5-8 below) relieves tension accumulated in the hips, chest, and neck from long periods of work in front of a computer.

5. Seated twist (Ardha matseyandrasana)

 
yoga Ardha matseyandrasana Seated twist
 
 

6. Neck stretch, simple seated posture

 
yoga  Neck stretch in simple seated posture Sukhasana
 
 

7. Eagle (Garudasana) arms, simple seated posture

 
yoga Garudasana (Eagle pose) arms in Sukhasana (Simple seated pose)
 
 

8. Reclined Figure-4 Stretch

 
yoga Reclined eye of needle stretch figure 4
 
 

9. Legs-up-the-wall-or-bed (Viparita karani)

 
yoga Viparita karani Inverted Lake or legs-up-the-wall pose
 
 

This inversion is necessary to ease tired legs and reverse blood flow to the heart and brain, especially if you were not able to include headstand and shoulderstand in your routine. It reduces anxiety, calms the mind, and helps regulate blood pressure. It can even calm crazy 7-year-old boy energy!

 

Most of you will be yawning before you complete this series! If so, hop in bed and have a wonderful night’s rest!

Still needing extra help? You may also want to check out my Yoga Nidra meditation on my Meditation Page. Yoga Nidra (Yoga sleep) is a very effective meditation to induce a relaxed state of mind and is also effective with changing mindset and habitual patterns.

Well wishes to you all…

Read Part 3: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture for sleep issues

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BrandyFalconLAc

Brandy Falcon, L.Ac., E-RYT

“I help families manage modern health challenges naturally by connecting them back to traditional wisdom and healing practices.”

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